Bringing Irish wool back home
Blátnaid Gallagher of The Galway Wool Co-op
The wool from indigenous Irish sheep lost its value in recent times as consumers shopped for softer merino fibres or cheaper synthetic fabrics. As the industry reaches crisis point, several innovators are making a persuasive case for using Irish wool in interior design, says Marie Kelly.
On the border between Uptown and Midtown Manhattan in New York City sits the Victor Gallery, a prestigious showroom for the finest antique, oriental and contemporary rugs in the world. Last month, this East Coast destination for art collectors, enthusiasts and interior designers alike hosted an exhibition of wool carpets and tapestries designed by Dubliner Claire McGovern. While it’s nothing new to find American institutions showcasing Irish artistry, this was notable because it was celebrating Irish wool, a material that in recent decades has been maligned for its coarser texture and maneuvered out of the market by a demand for softer merino fibers and cheaper synthetic fabrics.
Many people don’t realise that most of the wool throws, blankets, socks and scarves sold by heritage brands are not made of Irish wool but from fleeces imported from merino sheep farms on the other side of the world, which are spun and manufactured here. The 100% wool mark on a care label doesn’t address the wool’s provenance and this has led to a lack of transparency, according to Blátnaid Gallagher, founder of The Galway Wool Co-op. “I live in Galway and the town is populated with heritage shops selling wall-to-wall blankets. It’s frustrating to drive down the road and see fields full of indigenous sheep and know that their wool isn’t being used,” she says. “Most consumers buying Irish-branded woollen products assume they’re made from Irish wool, but in reality, it’s a global supply chain packaged in local storytelling. A lot of the products don’t even get spun in Ireland,” she adds. This has left little or no demand for Irish wool, forcing sheep farmers to either dump or compost their fleeces. Since the Co-op was founded five years ago, Donegal Yarns has bought their clip and spun it into spools for sale, but with no demand from Irish mills, the future of Irish wool and the Co-op itself is uncertain.
McGovern, the curator of “Fibre as Legacy: Preserving Irish Wool, Celebrating Irish Artistry” and founder of Rhyme Studio, an award-winning interior design and art advisory studio based in the New York borough of Brooklyn, began prototyping with Irish wool back in 2017. “My ultimate goal was always to establish a circular production model for a genuinely responsible design collection and Irish wool is a resilient, renewable, biodegradable fibre ideal for carpets and rugs,” she explains. “It’s fallen out of favour because of its coarser, thicker fibre so the fashion industry has deemed it worthless, and unfortunately the fashion industry has much more influence on fibre trends than the interiors world.”
The Dartry native, who moved to San Francisco after university before relocating to New York, is on a mission to help bring the Irish wool industry back from the brink. “I felt compelled to advocate for Irish wool at a time when the market has collapsed because there are so many benefits to be gained from using it in interior design,” she explains. “It’s antimicrobial, carbon-sinking, sound-absorbing, air-filtering, purifying and flame-retardant,” she reveals. “The health and wellness benefits of using wool in our homes are scientifically proven,” she adds, “yet right now 90% of what is produced by the carpet industry is synthetic. Despite its durability and suitability, contemporary makers have largely abandoned it.”
Irish wool may be out of fashion in the clothing industry, but clearly it should be inside every Irish home, and in terms of the current zeitgeist, there’s no better time to make a case for this once-valuable indigenous material. Since Covid, homes have come close to eclipsing clothes as an indicator of personal style and Vogue recently reported that the biggest interiors trend for 2025 is a home with “pieces that have history, character, and personality”. This holy trinity is one that Irish wool can comfortably lay claim to. As the foundation of the iconic Aran jumper industry, it has an authentic backstory that resonates globally. It’s shorn from purebred Galway Sheep and supports local producers and a circular economy at a time when traceability is a buzzword from fashion and food to energy and electronics; and every beautiful ball has an uncompromising strength, a tactile finish and clarity of colour.
Irish wool has fallen out of favour because of its coarser, thicker fibre so the fashion industry has deemed it worthless, and unfortunately the fashion industry has much more influence on fibre trends than the interiors world.
For McGovern, the challenge is to redefine luxury in the interiors industry. She is successfully flipping the narrative around Irish wool as worthless and somehow ‘less than’ and repositioning it as a premium resource sourced from small, organic farmers who raise healthy sheep on one of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. Her Irish wool rugs, carpets and tapestries currently sit in consulates, embassies and private residences around the world. What Ireland considers trash is becoming an international treasure. This chimes with leading trend forecaster WSGN’s recent prediction of an era of “deconsumption” in which “high-frequency, low-attachment purchases” will be abandoned in favour of items that provide “financial, cultural or emotional” value. To choose a rug, carpet, blanket or cushion made from Irish wool is not just an investment in an heirloom piece – and according to McGovern, items made from Irish wool will last from one generation to the next – it’s an investment in a meaningful heritage and an artisan industry which, in today’s multinational, mass-produced world, is more important than ever.
This sentiment is embodied in artist Ellie Dunne’s recent collaboration with The Galway Wool Co-op and Donegal Yarns. The 26-year-old designed a 100% Irish wool blanket called 40 Shades Of Green, which is currently on sale at The Irish Design Shop in Dublin’s Drury Street. Co-owner Clare Grennan says she’s noticing an increase in queries from customers about the origin of the wool used in the shop’s blankets. “Customers are seeking out ethically produced wool products, and Irish wool is by far the most sustainable choice. It’s really hard-wearing and there is no comparison between the quality of Irish wool and softer yarns. Some people still view it as ‘scratchy’, remembering the feel of old wool blankets in their granny’s houses, but my co-founder Laura and I love the feel and texture of it and, if we could, we would only sell Irish wool.” Grennan believes that Irish wool has a marketing problem. “I think more needs to be done on that side of things if we are to rejuvenate the image of Irish wool and attract new customers, but this needs Government investment,” she says.
A lot of consumers continue to covet the softness of merino/cashmere blends in blankets and throws, which is perhaps why Gallagher has been unable to persuade any of the major Irish spinning mills to incorporate Irish wool into their blanket and upholstery offerings. But change is slowly coming, she believes. “Across the country, a movement is quietly growing of spinners, weavers, felters, knitters and dyers who are choosing to work with native Irish, locally-grown wool. These artisans are not only keeping old skills alive, they’re building demand for an ethical, local and traceable product,” she explains.
Niamh O’Connell is one such designer. The textile artist says she got a real feel for the materiality of Irish wool when she studied textile design and visual culture as a mature student at NCAD. She now tries to use Irish wool in everything she makes and feels passionately about highlighting its cause. She showed her work at XTANT, an annual celebration of heritage textiles and artisan makers, in Majorca last year and she says that whenever she tells people about the state of the Irish wool industry, they’re shocked and horrified. “Everybody wants really soft jumpers,” O’Connell explains, “but there’s definitely a market in homewares for Irish wool,” she says. Her handmade Galway Sprouting Cushion, named after the purebred Galway Sheep, is 100% wool and 100% biodegradable (it’s filled with Galway fleece and there are no zips or plastic buttons).
Narrative is as important to Connelly’s craft as the product itself. Similarly, for McGovern, “All good design starts with sustainability and a good story”. Irish wool has both. Now surely it’s time we all bought into it.
This article was originally published in The Sunday Times Ireland, June 2025